Councillors' unexpected journey to South Ayrshire's top table
Two months ago, Councillor Brian Connolly became South Ayrshire's first independent council leader.
But he almost fell into politics by accident.
In 2006, he was a member of Maybole Community Council, with no real aspirations to 'higher' office.
When the then-Labour Council Leader Andy Hill resigned, both from his post and position as councillor for North Carrick and Maybole East, the businessman offered to stand.
However, he was told that he would have had to be a party member for at least six months to be eligible.
That seemed to be that – until Labour announced that they were putting forward a candidate from Coylton.
Cllr Connolly told Labour that, unless they selected a member from within the ward he would stand as an independent.
This was during the last year of the single member wards, which was replaced by the current multi-member wards in 2007.
In the end he won the seat by the absolute smallest of margins, defeating former Ayr Advertiser Editor, Conservative candidate Ann Galbraith, by a single vote which was confirmed after three recounts.
Labour were left to rue their choice, with Sandra Goldie falling from first to third of the four candidates.
He was re-elected in the 2007 election as one of four councillors in Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton – alongside the two Labour and Conservative candidates he had defeated the year before.
That election marked the biggest shift in a generation, with the upsurge in support for the SNP. As Cllr Connolly had become South Ayrshire Council's first ever independent member, the SNP picked up their first seats – with their eight councillors transforming the authority into a three-way contest between them, Labour and the Conservatives.
As the sole 'neutral', Cllr Connolly said he was sought out to carry out a number of roles despite his inexperience, including the chair of the key scrutiny committee.
It would not be until the next election, in 2012, that Cllr Connolly would be joined by another Carrick member.
When Cllr Alec Clark was elected to the Girvan and South Carrick ward, it became clear that a commonality of purpose and understanding that it would be logical to support each other as independents, meant that their paths would become entwined.
Cllr Clark also came from a community council background, but took a more circuitous route to the council.
Coming from a Girvan family, he had met his wife in Gibraltar and spent the majority of the 80s in the region, before returning to Girvan in 1988.
He got involved in the community soon thereafter. As a businessman he was aware of the defunct Girvan Merchants Association and with others worked to launch a new Girvan Business Association.
The group helped the town obtain Christmas lights and CCTV among other things. He then took up the position of Chair of Girvan Community Council in the noughties, eventually deciding to make the leap to stand for South Ayrshire Council.
Cllr Clark admitted that he did consider the possibility of standing on a party ticket, but eventually chose an independent path.
He said: 'I stood to be elected because things were happening in Girvan which I thought weren't getting the right oversight. They had lost the beach pavilion and then decided to close the swimming pool for no good reason.
His work in the community had certainly been noticed. In that 2012 election he picked up almost half of the first preference votes, almost 30 per cent ahead of the three mainstream parties, with the Conservatives ultimately losing their seat.
Cllr Clark said: 'Brian and I have worked close together ever since really. I did know Brian before I went to the council and went to him for advice around what was involved.
'At that time I was still in business. Once I was retired I was able to take on portfolios.
'At the time trying to invest but at a minimum. We ended up with a Quay Zone that wasn't the finished article. So these are the things that drove me. I have always been community minded.'
He added: 'As depute leader and Brian as Leader, our focus is on South Ayrshire as a whole.
'But at the time there certainly wasn't an equilibrium between Ayr, Prestwick and Troon and what was dubbed the rural area.
'We had to have a better oversight of the whole of South Ayrshire.
'Not that, these are where most people stay and need houses and then build all of the houses there.'
He said that in turn would lead to fewer moving to the south with the knock on impact on businesses and the local economy.
Cllr Connolly said that while they were not at the heart of the administration in the 2012-17 term, both continued to be called to take on roles by virtue of their status.
He said: 'That independence tag gives you that neutrality. Alec and I discuss politics in general very often, but on the council we have kept out of that. '
The 2017 election saw an SNP/Labour coalition take the council over from the Conservatives, with the two independents taking on portfolios and joining the then Leadership Panel.
Cllr Connolly added: 'After 2017, we have had central roles in every administration. '
In 2022 it looked as though the two independents would join Labour and the SNP to continue their coalitionn.
However, the two parties failed to come to an agreement.
Cllrs Connolly and Clark said that their loyalty was not in question, despite an approach from the then Conservative leader Martin Dowey.
Cllr Connolly said: 'To Martin's favour he asked us just after the election, but we said that we had committed our loyalty to SNP and Labour.
'That didn't happen, so when he came back, Martin said again 'will you take on these roles?'
'He actually came back and asked us twice and that is when we agreed to join the administration.'
Cllr Clark added: 'At the end of the day if we have a position where we can influence things, then it is much better for us to help our communities.'
Fast forward to the end of May and the breaking of the scandal that saw the Leader step down over promises made to a business over contracts, the Chief Executive resign and several Conservative councillors sever ties with the party.
There had already been a shift in the balance of the administration before the crisis exploded, with the cabinet featuring more independents than Conservatives.
There was significant criticism of the members of the administration, who were accused of 'rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic' by maintaining much the same cabinet as before.
That journey for the two independent councillors reached its unexpected destination in June when they were elected Leader and Depute Leader.
However, they are clear that they took the view that this change of leadership would not spark a series of upheavals.
Cllr Connolly said: 'What was obvious to us all, we only had two years left in administration and we didn't want everything to change.
'By the time all that settles, you are into your last year and you have no time to do anything.
'We were quite comfortable with the path that the administration was on.
'We had projects coming to maturity and we have seen that, when administrations change, everything is up in the air.
'Our aim is to simply keep the council moving forward in the right direction.'
Cllr Clark pointed to the regeneration work progressing across South Ayrshire.
He said: 'It wasn't just Ayr, Prestwick and Troon, although they are getting their slice of it.
'We have a lot in other towns. Maybole is starting to get a lot of regeneration. Girvan is getting regeneration.
'We have everything set up to go and are on the cusp of this coming to fruition.
'Why would we want to change that?'
With the number of independent councillors hitting double figures, as a result of elections and defections, Cllr Connolly admitted he would like to see more independents come the 2027 local elections.
Both councillors said they had never foreseen or looked to pursue a bid for the top jobs when they were the only independents in town.
Cllr Clark said: 'No, I didn't forsee it.
'What the journey we have had brings is experience.
'When you come into council, even though I had ten years with the community council, you have got to learn it is a political world, whether you are an independent or not.
'You have got to understand how the council works. What you can do what you cannot do. It is a big learning journey.
'But we have so much experience now that we find it quite comfortable. It is not something that we can't handle.
'That is why we can provide stability. We know that there is nothing that can come up that we have not seen before.
The Leader agreed, saying: 'It is not the position I would have thought of at the start of the journey, particularly when we were the only independents.
'I think anybody, whether it is Joe Public or council officers, would want an independent run council.
'Politics just gets in the way.'
The Depute Leader said: 'Politics is fine at a level above as you have to have that balance and checks.
'But an independent run council is absolutely much better.'
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